A Day Full of History

Extreme Sports Destinations in İzmir

If you are an extreme sports enthusiast, there are many options for you in İzmir.
Surfing

When it comes to surfing, İzmir is one of the best destinations in the World. Çeşme is the capital of surfing in Turkey. Çeşme Bays, especially Alaçatı, Ilıca, and Pırlanta, look like as if they were created for surfing. They host surf enthusiasts from all over the world.

Let's start with Alaçatı: If we were told that "Alaçatı" meant "surfing" in Turkish, we would have believed it! Having strong winds but suitable waves at the same time make Alaçatı one of the rare surfing spots in the world. As the sea remains shallow for quite a distance, rookies of this sport love Alaçatı too. This means that Alaçatı brings the professionals and the newbies together every day.

If you’re new to surfing and you don’t want to do it side by side with the experienced, you can go to Ilıca Bay. The sea is shallow for almost 100 meters from the shore, which makes Ilıca a perfect spot for beginners.

If you’re an experienced surfer and you’re looking for an alternative to Alaçatı, Pırlanta Bay is your destination. The bay is in Çiftlikköy, just across the Sakız Island. You can find strong winds and big waves here, every season of the year. Pırlanta Bay is also perfect for kitesurfing.

Yumru Bay is also ideal for kitesurfing, thanks to the strong winds blowing for 11 months of the year, and its shallow sea. The spot hosts World, European, and Turkish championships for windsurfing, in addition to many other international races and events.

In addition to the locations mentioned above, you can also surf, windsurf, and kitesurf in Urla’s Çeşmeler, Seferihisar’s Akkum, and Foça’s Çandarlı.

Diving

İzmir has many bays quite generous when it comes to underwater riches. The bays in Karaburun, Mordoğan, Selçuk, Foça, Çeşme, Urla, Seferihisar, and Dikili are the most popular destinations.

There are many diving schools you can visit before diving in these bays, where you will have the opportunity to see the deep blue of the Aegean

İzmir is one of the cities with the most favorable climate for skydiving. If you’d like to do skydiving in İzmir, Efes is the place to go. It is possible to find everything needed in Efes, both for those who are new to this sport and do some training, and for professional divers. In just one hour after landing in İzmir, you can find yourself safely diving with appropriate equipment and expert paratroopers.

Paragliding

Although İzmir is not the most important city when it comes to paragliding, there are some districts where you can enjoy this sport. You can get information about materials, flight logic, and aviation at the institutions that allow you to do paragliding, and after the theoretical and practical training necessary for a pleasant and safe flight, you can perform your flight.

One of the districts at which paragliding is professionally done is Ödemiş. Paragliding is done at the Ovacık Village, "Hill A" area between Bozdağ and Gölcük, 20 km away from Ödemiş on the way to Salihli. The take-off runway is next to the Bozdağ- Ovacık Gendarmery Station. The field which has a jumping area to the South is the most favorable one in the Aegean Area for competitions and long-distance flights.

The three take off runways at the Tire Güme Mountain are also preferred by paragliders. There are 700, 900, 1100 meters take-off runways on the mountain.

Caving (Speleology)

Depending on the difficulty of the cave to be explored, caving can also be seen as an extreme sport. If you're into caving, there are more than 50 caves are waiting for you in İzmir.

These registered and recorded caves are concentrated in Ödemiş, Urla, Buca, Torbalı, Foça, Selçuk, Aliağa, Dikili, Karaburun, Kemalpaşa, Tire and Bornova districts. Especially Kemalpaşa, Torbalı, and Buca stand out in terms of the number of caves.

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